Fear not, friends. We have some simple pie crust tips and tricks that will make your pies the star of every summer party. And, don’t tell, but we didn’t even make our pies from scratch! Just grab a can of fruit pie filling, add some fresh fruit to the filling, and unroll some pie crust from the refrigerated section of the grocery store. None of these fancy pies took longer than 20 minutes to make. However, all you baking pros out there can feel free to go the homemade route if you choose.
Roses
Roses are so simple to create, but really make a beautiful statement. And in our Large Heart Bowl, how sweet is this pie? Use a knife to cut strips about ½ inch thick. You’ll only need each strip to be about 4 inches long. Create a rose-like spiral, taking care to curl out the “petals” as you wind the dough around itself. Pinch the bottom, but keep the top portion of the petals loose. You’ll make the most realistic roses that way. We took some extra dough to make rose petals, freehand with a knife. Add the roses and leaves to the top of your pie filling. Brush with an egg wash and sprinkle with sugar. Then bake the pie according to your recipe.
Shapes
You could easily just cover your pie with a flat crust and poke some holes in the top. But what fun would that be? We think this is the simplest trick of all. Use some cookie cutters to cut shapes out of your freshly rolled dough. Lay them out in a haphazard pattern across the top. Voila! We used star shapes for our summer celebrations, but you could really use any shape at all. Bake as usual.
Painted Dough
For those who have an artistic flair, this technique is sure to impress. And it’s so easy! We made a cherry pie in our Square Baker. We used a knife to freeform some cherries, stems and leaves. A little egg wash “glued” them to the lattice crust. Then, using a paint brush, we “painted” our cherries with some red and green food coloring. We used our food coloring straight out of the bottle, but you could dilute it with a little water for a watercolor effect. Bake your pie in the oven.
Braided Crust
Isn’t this braided crust adorable? If you can braid hair, you can pull this off. Cut thin strips of dough, about ¼” thick. Roll each strip to make a smooth snake-like tube. Take three at a time and pinch them together at the top. Then braid them together and pinch at the bottom. You might need to do this 2-3 times to fit the braids all the way around your Pie Baker. Brush the bottom crust with a little egg wash and lightly press the braids onto the bottom crust. Brush the braids with egg wash and sprinkle with sugar. Bake as usual.
Fruit Shapes
We love a crumble topping on a fruit pie. But it’s difficult to determine what flavor is being served until you cut into it. Eliminate any confusion with this easy trick. We made a mini peach pie in our Fiesta Ramekin. But before we put it in the oven, we sliced a peach and created a negative space star, again using cookie cutters (they’re so useful when making pies!).
Do you have any tips for making Instagram-worthy pies? We’d love to hear them! Better yet, share your pies with us on social media at Facebook, Instagram or Pinterest.
And be sure to check out some of our previous posts for Fiesta pie recipes: Mini Confetti Cream Pies, Confetti Cream Pie, Mini Pumpkin Pies, Chicken Pot Pie, and Petite Pies.
